Reon stared at the small pill resting in his palm.
It was smooth, round—almost like a piece of candy.
For a fleeting moment, doubt flickered in his mind. Was this truly a Grade-2 Healing Pill?
It looked so… Unassuming.
Yet, as his gaze drifted back to his battered, broken body, he let out a weary sigh.
What choice did he have?
With no hesitation, he brought the pill to his lips.
The moment it neared his mouth, a rich, intoxicating fragrance enveloped him—a blend of various herbs and delicate floral notes, warm and reassuring.
A Scent that spoke of Healing and Vitality.
As his teeth pressed into the pill, a burst of flavor flooded his senses, unlike anything he had ever tasted.
A wave of heat spread through his body, seeping into every aching muscle, every fractured bone.
It was as if his very essence was being restored from the inside out. It was the first time in his life he had ever consumed something so transformative.
A Miracle in the form of a Simple Candy.
If something like this had existed back on Earth, it would have been worth millions.
But here, in this cruel, unforgiving world, it was merely a Stepping Stone—one that could mean the difference between Life and Death.
[Ding! The Host has eaten a Healing pill for the first time. The effect of the Healing pill is increasing.]
[Ding! The Host has completed the selected option. Host has received a Protection Item (Low- Tier Uncommon-Grade).]
[Ding! The Host has received a Novice Gift. Touch the box to unlock it. Depending on your Luck, you will receive an item or a skill.]
[Ding! The rewards have been stored in the System Inventory. Check your Inventory for further details.]
System notifications flooded his vision, but Reon barely paid them any heed.
Right now, there was only one thing that mattered—his Body.
If he didn't recover within a week, he was as good as dead.
No— even if he were at full health, he would still die at the hands of the Protagonist.
After all, Xue Taiyang had been beaten to death even at his Peak.
But that didn't mean Reon would sit back and wait for fate to claim him.
As the minutes passed, he could feel it—his body slowly knitting itself back together.
After half an hour, the pain had dulled. His fingers flexed, his limbs moved. Though soreness lingered in his bones, it was nothing compared to the agony he had endured before.
Reon clenched his fists. "Just how badly did this bastard get beaten?"
Had it not been for the System's Enhancement, even a Grade-2 Healing Pill wouldn't have worked this fast. It should have taken hours—maybe longer.
But now…
His eyes flickered toward the System Panel. It was time to check his rewards.
.
.
[Inventory]
[Name: Bull Stopping Shield
Rank: Low-Tier Uncommon-Grade
Description: Designed to withstand one attack from a Mid-Stage Qi-Solidification Realm Cultivator.
Durability: 3/3 Uses Remaining]
.
.
Reon's lips curled into a small smirk.
"Not bad."
An Uncommon-Grade item might not sound impressive, but in the early stages of the novel, it was Invaluable.
Being able to block even a single attack from a Qi-Solidification Realm cultivator could mean the difference between Life and Death.
After all, even the Protagonist was only in the High-Stage Qi-Refining Realm at this point.
He took a deep breath, his mind recalling the structure of power in this world.
The Realms cultivator are divided into Nine Realm which are Qi-Refining Realm, Qi-Solidification Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm, Golden-Core Formation Realm, Elements-Refining Realm, Nascent Soul Realm, Void-Refining Realm, Body Integration Realm, Earth King Realm.
These realms are further divided into nine minor stages, with each set of three stages classified as Low, Mid, and High.
Before breaking through to the next realm, one must first attain the Peak Stage of their current realm.
And beyond the Earth King Realm?
The Earth Emperor Realm.
A realm spoken of only in Myths. A threshold that no cultivator had crossed in thousands of years.
Legends claimed that those who reached the Earth Emperor Realm could Ascend to the Higher Realms.
But for millennia, no one had ever been able to confirm it.
Thus, it remains a mere legend, first recounted in the novel when cultivation realms were initially introduced.
There are nine grades of Items, Artifacts, Skills, and Techniques: Common-Grade, Uncommon-Grade, Rare-Grade, Unique-Grade, Epic-Grade, Legendary-Grade, Mythical-Grade, Saint-Grade, Immortal-Grade.
Each grade was further divided into Low-Tier, Mid-Tier, High-Tier, and Peak-Tier.
And then there were the whispers—the Rumors of something beyond even Immortal-Grade.
Divine-Grade.
A level so high that no one had ever seen such an Artifact with their own eyes.
Reon exhaled slowly. A Long Way To Go.
Closing the Inventory, he turned his attention to the Novice Gift.
.
[Novice Gift Box]
Open to receive a random item or skill.
.
His expression darkened.
"Depends on luck?"
He let out a dry chuckle. What luck?
He struggled to recall a single moment in his life when fate had been kind to him.
Nothing came to mind.
Well… maybe back when he was still a child.
Back when he lived in the Orphanage—the only place that had ever felt like Home.
But everything changed when he lost the only family he had—his Childhood Friend and Beloved Sister Figure—to a Mysterious illness.
She was all he had.
And then, she was Gone.
At twelve years old, he was left alone, wandering the Streets with nothing.
No Home.
No Family.
No Warmth.
Time passed, and his memories of her face grew blurry unnaturally, slipping through his fingers like sand.
And that… that was what he hated the most.
He could no longer remember her voice, her smile—the light in her eyes.
Only emptiness remained.
And with that emptiness, he had lost something else, too.
His emotions.
For years, he drifted through life like a ghost, indifferent to everything.
A stray dog. A forgotten shadow.
But here, in this world, he could not afford to be indifferent.
Here, he had to survive.
Pushing the past aside, he raised his hand and pressed the Novice Gift Box.
A Deep Breath.
No matter what, he would not waver.
He had made two promises.
One to himself.
And one to her.
He would stop at nothing to see them fulfilled.And now, the opportunity to do so had finally arrived.
[Ding! The Host has opened the Novice Gift Box.]
[Ding! The Host has received…]